Legal stance on Sound Choice and Stellar Records

[admin]

Thank you. Our digital rights attorney in San Francisco has already been contacted to start an analysis. As far as I am concerned at this moment, there is a "Restraint of Trade" legal violation occuring here. I respect Stellar Records, as they are the reason we entered the Karaoke field in 1996. SC is another story...

We are evaluating our options.

The problem is DISCS ARE DEAD, but those who still make them don't yet know it.

We have been working on securing our software, and now KMA songs and we will very soon have an alternative to offer the producers... who are willing to move to Internet digital downloads.

The real problem is the USA Publishers. I know some of the background facts, and I read the pressures from these Publishers in both the SC and Stellar "position papers".

Also, if you read their papers carefully, they are really hot about the true bootleggers who copy and sell discs (some as many as 5,000 at a time), and those KJs who have bought hard drives from EBAY with 35,000 songs for $400 (including the HDD). Also, SCDG discs with songs that cost $0.20 are doubtfully legal as the going rate for USA royalties is $0.12 to $0.27 per song. Thus, SC and Stellar have my support to go after true bootleggers and illegal theft. We will aid them where possible to protect YOUR and MTU's interest in the Karaoke Industry where we all make our living, and provide a valid service to the world.

However, to claim that you honest customers don't have the legal right to format shift and play from a HDD, or play from copies of your purchased discs is NOT the law as our Attorney tells us. Their Attorney is saying the opposite. There is no court case to prove who is right. If they won't back off, we may have to spearhead a test class-action law suit against them to establish the law in a Court. Frankly, we don't want to do that, but if our product sales become affected, we will.

QED